Personal information | |||
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Full name | Javier Olaizola Rodríguez | ||
Date of birth | 28 November 1969 | ||
Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1991–1992 | Eibar | 38 | (0) |
1992–1994 | Burgos | 48 | (0) |
1994–1995 | Eibar | 36 | (0) |
1995–2004 | Mallorca | 278 | (1) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Javier Olaizola Rodríguez (born 28 November 1969 in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa) is a retired Spanish professional footballer who played mostly as a right defender.
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Olaizola's first professional club was SD Eibar, in his native Basque Country, in the second division. Subsequently, he played two seasons with Real Burgos CF, going on to suffer two consecutive drops, and returning for a second spell with Eibar afterwards.
In 1995, Olaizola signed with RCD Mallorca, immediately becoming an undisputed starter as well as team captain, and helping the Balearic Islands outfit to the 1998 Spanish Supercup, against top flight giants FC Barcelona, as well as a second place in the following year's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
He played only 27 matches combined in his last two years, due to several injuries and age, and retired at almost 35. Olaizola then had brief spells as manager, with Mallorca's youth teams and Antiguoko (also a youth club, in the Basque region).[1]
Olaizola's older brother, Julio (19 years his senior), was also a footballer and a defender. He played in ten top flight seasons with Real Sociedad.[2]